Buddy, the First Seeing Eye Dog

Buddy, a female German Shepherd Dog, was the first Seeing Eye dog in the United States of America. Owned by Morris Frank, and bred and trained by Dorothy Harrison Eustis in Switzerland,  Buddy helped Mr. Frank fight for the rights of people with special challenges, including the right to bring service animals into restaurants, onto airplanes, and other places where pets are not typically allowed. Many of the principles and ideas Mr. Frank lobbied for are now law, thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Buddy met Presidents Hoover and Coolidge, and when she died in 1938, the New York Times ran an obituary honoring her impact on American compassion and civility.